Polskie LNG obtains environmental permits for terminal expansion

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Polskie LNG has obtained a set of environmental and location decisions for all projects implemented under the LNG Terminal Expansion Program, as per Hydrocarbonengineering.

The environmental permits are final, while the decisions issued by the Governor of West Pomerania are immediately enforceable (which stems directly from the provisions of the Special Act on the LNG Terminal). The Expansion Program of President Lech Kaczynski's LNG Terminal is implemented as scheduled.

The environmental decision and location permit are of fundamental importance for subsequent phases of collating pivotal project documentation such as building permits required for the investment process, said Pawel Jakubowski, President of the Management Board of Polskie LNG.

Meanwhile, two tender procedures are in progress. The objective of the first procedure – announced in December 2018 – is the selection of the contractor for three key components of the onshore expansion programme: construction of the third process storage tank, additional process installations increasing the regasification capacity and the LNG-to-rail transhipment installation along with a dedicated railway siding. Upon bidders' request, the deadline for submitting the offers was extended until 19 February. The second tender procedure (launched on 2 January 2019) pertains to the offshore development of the facility, i.e. the construction of an additional jetty. The latter project is implemented in collaboration with the Szczecin and Swinoujscie Seaports Authority. In that tender procedure, the offers are due by 26 February.

Enhanced regasification capacity, additional functionality and services are offered in response to the growing market demand for natural gas in Central and Eastern Europe and in the entire Baltic Sea region. Polskie’s LNG Terminal will become a key facility contributing to the development of LNG market not only locally, but also in neighbouring countries.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- As part of its strategy to foster the additional growth of its Specialties business, and to provide outstanding service to its customers in North America, SABIC has named Chase Plastic Services, Inc. as a key distribution partner, serving SABIC customers for specialty engineering thermoplastics in the United States, Canada and Mexico, said the company.

Chase Plastics joins Nexeo Solutions as authorized distributors of SABIC’s complete portfolio of specialty materials, including NORYL™ resins (polyphenylene ether-based materials), ULTEM™ resins (polyetherimide materials), LNP™ compounds and the full range of polycarbonate-based, high performance copolymers.

"Because we view our distributors as extensions of our commercial teams, SABIC sets a very high standard when selecting distribution partners. We have every confidence that Chase Plastics, with its outstanding leadership, broad distribution network, deep experience in specialty thermoplastics and their commitment to, as they themselves say, ‘outrageous service,’ will bring added value to SABIC’s Specialties customers,” said Cathie Hess, Director, Customer Fulfillment, SABIC.

Chase Plastics is headquartered in Clarkston, Michigan, and has a network of 32 distribution centers and warehouses in the United States, Mexico and Canada, but it is the quality of their sales teams, which have deep experience in specialty products, including application development, that resulted in the distribution partnership with SABIC, noted Hess. “Chase Plastics’ sales and service teams are well-versed in the performance attributes of specialty plastics and ways to maximize application design to fully leverage those attributes."

"We are delighted by the prospects of supporting SABIC’s existing customers, and in addition, we look forward to helping SABIC grow its customer base in strategic industries in North America,” said Kevin Chase, President, Chase Plastics. “Chase Plastics’ strengths – unparalleled customer service, technical expertise and the breadth of our network – are well-aligned with SABIC’s growth ambitions. Just as important, our company’s business pillars of responsiveness, insight, flexibility and dedication are an excellent cultural fit with SABIC, which puts the customer at the center of each collaboration."

Chase Plastics will begin serving SABIC customers during Q1 2019, with a primary focus on initial introductions and orientation to programs in process with select SABIC customers. Chase Plastics representatives will also have access to the full range of SABIC’s global application design and testing resources to support their relationships with SABIC customers.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) - Tallgrass Energy Partners LP (TGE.N) and Kinder Morgan Inc. (KMI.N) on Tuesday agreed to lift crude transport capacity from Wyoming and Colorado to the US oil storage hub in Cushing, Oklahoma and other markets, said Reuters.

The project would combine Tallgrass’s Pony Express pipeline and portions of Kinder’s Wyoming Interstate Co. and Cheyenne Plains Gas pipeline running from the Powder River and Denver-Julesburg basins to the companies’ Deeprock terminal in Cushing.

The companies also agreed to build an additional 200 mi (322 km) of new pipeline, convert natural gas takeaway capacity to oil and add capacity to the Williston Basin in North Dakota and parts of Western Canada.

The combined system would carry 800,000 bpd of light crude and 150,000 bpd of heavy crude to the terminal, beginning service in the second half of 2020.

From Cushing, shippers could send crude to US Gulf Coast markets through Tallgrass’s planned Seahorse pipeline, the companies said. Tallgrass’s open season on the Seahorse, originally set to conclude on Friday, was extended to Feb. 28 last week.

"Shippers benefit by gaining access to a pipeline system that can source from multiple basins and access numerous demand markets," Tallgrass Chief Operating Officer Bill Moler said in a statement.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Shenhua Ningxia Coal Industry Group (SNCG), a subsidiary of Shenhua Group, one of the largest petrochemical producers in China, has brought on-stream its linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) plant following an unplanned outage, as per Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source informed that the company has resumed operations at the plant on January 19, 2019. The unit remained off-line for around one week owing to technical issues.

Located at Ningxia province of China, the plant has a production capacity of 450,000 mt/year.

As MRC informed before, on 28 November, 2017, SNCG commissioned new polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) plants in Ningxia province with the capacity of 450,000 and 550,000, respectively.

Shenhua Ningxia Coal Industry Group Co., Ltd. engages in coal mining and washing, coal deep processing, coal chemical industry, electric power, real estate, and other businesses.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Overall polyethylene (PE) imports into Belarus decreased in the first eleven months of 2018 by 11% year on year, reaching 100,100 tonnes. At the same time, local companies reduced purchasing of exclusively linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE), according to MRC's DataScope report.

According to the National Statistics Committee of Belarus, November PE imports to Belarus virtually remained at the level of October and were 8,500 tonnes. Overall PE imports reached 100,100 tonnes in January-November 2018, compared to 112,400 tonnes a year earlier. Demand for LLDPE subsided significantly, whereas demand for high density polyethylene (HDPE) increased.

The structure of PE imports to Belarus by grades looked the following way over the stated period.

November 2018 total LLDPE imports rose to 3,700 tonnes from 3,000 tonnes a month earlier, local companies increased their purchases in Russia on the back of the shutdown for maintenance at the local producer. Overall imports of this PE grade into Belarus totalled 35,200 tonnes in January-November 2018, which virtually corresponded to the last year's figure.

November imports of HDPE dropped to 4,400 tonnes from 5,000 tonnes in the previous month. Local companies reduced their purchasing of pipe grade PE in Saudi Arabia. Thus, overall HDPE imports totalled 50,400 tonnes in the first eleven months of 2018, up by 10.2% year on year. Overall LLDPE imports reached 13,600 tonnes over the stated period, whereas this figure was 31,600 tonnes a year earlier.

MRC